Help with new PC
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Hello all!
I need to buy myself a new PC. My dear laptop is still working fine but I fear it has grown to old for recent games. Its processor (and probably graphic card too) is no longer up to the task. I would like advice on what I should look for in a new PC (I will buy a desktop. Laptops are fun but for the same price, I get a better desktop) and also what I should avoid at all cost.
I am looking for a ready made machine although IF I find someone good with comps, might get a custom build.
thank you!
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I'm not a computer wiz myself so I can't give you very well-supported advice on specific components to look for.
I would say: avoid HP. I've heard people say they have had some for a long time that held up. Whenever I get something of theirs, though, something on it breaks within the month, or it decides to stop booting, or some other catastrophic failure. Power supply fries due to a power outage (while protected by a bar), stuff like that.
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There are going to be naesayers who'll say otherwise but I -really- highly recommend avoiding HP like the plague. Their desktop machines aren't bad (some quite good infact) but their laptops have a terrible track record and their customer service isn't exactly stellar in that regard either.
That said, you can pick up some good barebones and complete systems from http://tigerdirect.com/ or New Egg. If you're even remotely handy with a computer (IE, you can put a disk in a dvd drive and click a couple things) you can install your own operating system from someone else's disk/buy your own copy and save a few bucks that way too rather than getting all the pre-installed stuff.
I saw a good barebones computer that included most everything sans hard drive for around 500. I don't know if it'd do what you need it to but it included an 8 core CPU, 4 gig of ram and a reasonably decent graphics card.
Honestly and above all, putting one of these barebones machines together really isn't hard. You can watch a youtube video on the subject and do it yourself in about 30 minutes. A fair chunk of my business has been doing stuff like this and I started much the same way. From scratch. It also saves you a bit of cash. :)
Hope this helps!
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I'm interested in this as well. It's getting close to new pc time for me too.
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You Need to get the following:
Chassis (Tower to put stuff in. 30-60 dollars usually)
Motherboard (The spine of a PC, connects everything)
CPU (Braaaaiiinnnsss)
Graphics Card (No money, no honey)
Sound Card (Motherboards often come with this integrated) -
Really need to have some idea of your rough budget.
Here's some rough guides to self-build:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/How ... ur-Own,16/That would show you "whats possible" at the price points, and you can then look for pre-mades with similar specs.
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hoping for premade ready to go and guarantied. Was thinking desktop Dell, was told they are good. Don't want a laptop. Had one, its fun but too expensive for the power. I've a rather decent budget to get a good gaming computer.
hoping for a core i7
been told ssd in the comp is ze awesome also -
Tiger Direct is the way to go. I bought my PC parts for my custom PC and never had a problem. PC still runs great 1.5 years later. They have a very quick and helpful support that will immediately exchange any bad parts no questions asked.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... &CatId=114
Under $1000 PCs are listed, some i7 and i5.
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SSD is quite fantastic and dropping in price. That's my next point of call.
With regards to ready made, I don't really think it matters where you go: HP, Dell, what ever. You'll get a ready made machine. 90% of them will be just fine and dandy, and 10% will give you nightmares. Anyone you talk to can tell you of a horror story from one company and how the next company was fabulous. The next person you talk to will tell you the exact opposite, because they had a different experience. Don't worry so much about those stories, but watch the ones that talk of very poor customer service. That's where it hurts. If you get a duff machine and they fix it, with no questions asked, who cares? If you get a duff machine and it takes 3 months to get it sorted, you care! The only think you need to watch is spending on things you don't want or need, just because a big company has bundled it.
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Go Dell or Acer ready mades. Avoid HP and Compaq like the plague. Alienware is apparently owned by Dell but I've heard some bad things (considering they're so pricey).
Statwise, I'd get something with an Intel Core i5 processor, over 8GB of DDR3 SD RAM, and an SSDD (solid state disk/hard drive).
Video card could be anything in the Nvidia 500 series or ATI Raedon 6000 series (I'd say nVidia 560 or Raedon 6970).I could get a lot more specific and techy for you, but really that's all you need to know.
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Oh, regarding the video card it's worth quickly checking if it doesn't conflict with NWN. I remember seeing a short list of Nvidia cards back when I was buying a PC that were listed as acting screwy with NWN.
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If you get a hand on that list again, H, post it up we'll sticky it! My laptop is still working fine for nwn so worst case scenario, I use my laptop for CoA love.
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You Need to get the following:
Chassis (Tower to put stuff in. 30-60 dollars usually)
Motherboard (The spine of a PC, connects everything)
CPU (Braaaaiiinnnsss)
Graphics Card (No money, no honey)
Sound Card (Motherboards often come with this integrated)You don't need any memory? That's a decent saving, I guess, but will it work?
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Hello all!
I need to buy myself a new PC. My dear laptop is still working fine but I fear it has grown to old for recent games. Its processor (and probably graphic card too) is no longer up to the task. I would like advice on what I should look for in a new PC (I will buy a desktop. Laptops are fun but for the same price, I get a better desktop) and also what I should avoid at all cost.
I am looking for a ready made machine although IF I find someone good with comps, might get a custom build.
thank you!
Building a PC is not as hard as most people think, here is a good three part video from http://www.newegg.com on the topic. Links below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3 -
I knew nothing about PCs until I decided to build one myself. I watched a video on youtube and bought some components. It was fun, surprisingly easy, educative and now I have a flawlessly functioning computer.
Did I save a lot of money when I decided to build one myself instead of buying a ready-made? Propably not, but now I can maintain and upgrade my own PC instead of having a professional fix it or having to buy a whole new set once my PC gets old.
Don't forget to invest in the PSU (Power Supply). Doesn't help if you've got all the latest CPU and graphics cards, but lack the power to run them smoothly. A lot of my friends upgrade their computer but always forget to upgrade the PSU too. Their computers keep crashing a lot.
Also save a copy of your NWN and CoA DM stuff in an USB drive. Saves you a lot of time and effort when you don't have to manually install patches from shady links on shady forums.
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I usually at least check here for configurations: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/landingpage ... QgodVEQAGQ Tech support was much better than expected .
Really useful if you're looking for a gaming comp. You can get the base model with an upgrade to i7 and a better graphics card, a little more solid power supply for under $1K.
I used to drop $3K+ on a machine I'd build myself with high-end parts, and try to keep it running for 5 years or more. Now I just drop $1K, let these guys build it with decent enough stuff and replace my computer every 2 years.
I'm not a huge gamer anymore though; mostly play NWN and run Photoshop on my compy. If you need 3D monitors and a liquid cooled triple graphics card system, you'll have to spend a little more.
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Also, you should look into how much noise all the various components with fans make. It's annoying to have a noisy computer… about 20 dBA is good, but I'm not sure how high this value can go before it qualifies as noisy (lower dBA value is better). dBA is not something found in all specs though, so it might be hard to know how noisy a system or component really is.
Google the components, and you might find a more detailed spec. My last computer all components had around 19 to 25 dBA, and it was quiet compared to my girl friend's computer who stood next to it. So really, it didn't matter that mine was quiet >_<
Edit: Found this guide to computer noise. It's a comprehensive article, but it states that 30dBA is still quiet for a computer.
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If you are still looking, a couple of questions. Do you have a price point you would like to spend around? Beyond gaming / basic internet are you looking for the computer to do anything for you? How long do you want / need this desktop to last you?
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hoping for the desktop to last a while and I've a butget of about 1k $CAN
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http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/ ... dtime=True
Dell
Windows 7 Home Premium
Intel Core i5
8GB DDR SD RAM
AMD Radeon™ HD 7570 1GB GDDR5
1TB Hard Drive (1,000 GB - 1,000,000 MB: rounded figure)
DVD/CD Burner (16X)
Wireless Networking1 YR Warranty
More bells and whistles$999
Comes with laser mouse, keyboard, and 24" flatscreen monitorSpeakers not included
THEREGO